Japanese Civil Wars of 1450–1550

At issue: Control of various Japanese provinces and eventually of the country as a whole

Date: 1450–1550

Location: Japan

Combatants: Various Japanese daimyo (feudal barons)

Principal commanders: Yamana Mochitoyo, later Yamana Sōzen (1404–1473), Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430–1473), Hō jō Sō un (1432–1519), Hōjō Ujitsuna (1478–1541), Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578), Takeda Shingen (1521–1573)

Principal battles: Odawara, Kuzuryugawa, Edo, Sendanno, Konodai

Result: Indecisive; however, developments during this period later led to the consolidation of power on a national scale

Background

Between 1153 and 1221, Japan’s imperial court fell under the power of the samurai, the nation’s emerging warrior class. The imperial court maintained a great deal of prestige, but the administration of the country was divided among military barons who controlled individual districts. By 1450, the bakufu, the central military authority, was no longer powerful enough to maintain order. A period of civil war known as the Epoch of the Warring Country resulted. As the daimyo (feudal barons) fought against one another in order to expand their territory and bring more resources under their control, Japan was progressively divided into a large number of autonomous domains ruled over by either the powerful warrior families of old or by ambitious upstarts.

Action

The first serious conflict during the Epoch of the Warring Country was the Ōnin War (1467–1477). This decade-long struggle originated with succession disputes involving two of the great daimyo—Yamana Mochitoyo and Hosokawa Katsumoto—and their attempts to dominate the decadent and virtually powerless Ashikaga bakufu, which theoretically administered the country in the emperor’s name. Most of the fighting took place in and around the city of Kyoto, and much of the ancient capital was destroyed in the fighting. The Hosokawa were the nominal victors and established their dominance over the bakufu, but they did not wield enough power to impose their authority on a national scale.

Despite the lack of a national hegemony, some notable warlords were able to expand their domains and dominate entire regions. In 1491, Hōjō Sōun occupied Odawara and gained control over Izu province. He then began to consolidate his hold over the strategically important Kanto plain. Sōun was a wandering samurai from an undistinguished family and the fact that he attained such great power shows how chaotic Japanese political life was during this period. Sōun was succeeded by his son, Hōjō Ujitsuna, who further expanded his territory by defeating the powerful Uesugi family at Edo (1524). At Konodai (1538), Ujitsuna also defeated the forces of Satomi Yoshitaka and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, bringing the power of his family to new heights. The fortunes of the Hōjō continued to rise until after 1550.

Even more striking than Sōun’s rise from obscurity to a position of power was the uprising of the Ikko sect. This religious movement seized the province of Kaga from its hereditary governor in 1486. With this victory, the Ikko sect established itself as a major military force in central Japan. The Ikko sect controlled Kaga until the period after 1550 and was forced to defend the province a number of times. Its first serious challenge came at Kuzuryugawa (1506), where the sect defeated the forces of Asakura Norikage. The Ikko sect was later attacked by Nagao Tamekage, another ambitious daimyo, but the religious group mounted a successful defense at Sendanno (1536).

Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin are two other famous generals who were active during the Epoch of the Warring Country. Their territories were located next to each other, which put them in continuous conflict. Before 1550, both men struggled to carve out their territory by fighting against other warlords. For example, Takeda seized control of the province of Kai by overthrowing his father in 1541 and spent the rest of the decade fighting against rivals in order to consolidate his gains. Having succeeded in subduing other opposition, both Takeda and Uesugi proceeded to fight five battles against one another on the plain of Kawanakajima.

These examples are just a few of the numerous battles and skirmishes that were fought between rival warlords during this period. The campaigns of the Hōjō and men such as Uesugi and Takeda show the pattern of warfare during this era to be a struggle toward establishing and consolidating regional power.

Aftermath

The period of warfare from 1450–1550 ended the power of the Muromachi bakufu and led to the emergence of many powerful and politically independent fiefs throughout the country. The period of civil war did not cease after 1550, as powerful daimyo such as Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, and Uesugi Kenshin continued to attempt to impose their authority on a national scale. After 1550, however, Western-style firearms, which were introduced in Japan in 1542, became a decisive weapon on the battlefield. This and other developments that occurred between 1450 and 1550 created the conditions that made possible the campaign of national conquest of Oda Nobunaga and his successors.

Bibliography

Grossberg, Kenneth A. Japan’s Renaissance: The Politics of the Muromachi Bakufu. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981.

Sato, Hiroaki. Legends of the Samurai. New York: Overlook Press, 1996.

Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1998.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Samurai Warfare. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1996.